District court judge keeps spending down

Friday

May 30, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Kortny Hahn

89th District Court Judge Maria Barton presented her annual report highlighting significant accomplishments made last year to the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners at its Tuesday meeting.Barton singled out the court’s commitment to efficient use of public resources, stating her office recognizes its responsibility to be fiscally responsible and has done its best to keep spending in check.“In 2013, the 89th District Court expenditures were almost $18,000 less than what was budgeted,” said Barton. “And if you look over the last five years, we’ve come in under budget to a tune of approximately $140,000.”Barton said the court was selected by the Michigan Department of State to be a pilot court for its new Direct Access program. With this program, the court is able to instantly clear the suspension from an individual’s driving record once payment of fines and costs are received in full, rather than requiring the individual to appear at the Secretary of State's Office to have it removed.“We were one of 12 courts selected to be the pilot program,” said Barton.Barton said the court also has continued to pursue the collection of fines and costs at the time of sentencing. To date, it has collected around $36,000 on cases where garnishments of state income taxes were once set in place. If the individual came in to pay fines before the garnishment were processed by the Department of Treasury, the tax returns were not garnished.“This year, we collected $6,500 through tax garnishments,” said Barton. “It’s been a good program. It’s a lot of work to do, but we’ve collected about $42,000 in garnishments.”One way the court has been able to keep costs down is through the installation of the Polycom system being installed in all three of the courtrooms in Cheboygan County. By using this system, when a defendant in a case is lodged in a different county, or in prison, that person can attend the court appointment through video conference, thereby saving transportation and overtime costs for the defendant to be brought to Cheboygan County.Barton said in 2013, the state, court and sheriff’s department saved approximately $5,500 by using the system, avoiding transportation costs of bringing defendants to the court.Barton said she is especially proud of the district court's sobriety court program, which will be in its second year this August. The goal of the sobriety court is to help substance abusers achieve sobriety by providing them with a structural framework, which helps them change their addictive behaviors. Those in the sobriety court are also held accountable for their actions.There are currently 18 participants in the program. They are also responsible for paying their fines and costs, as well as a participation fee of $20 a month for each month they attend the sobriety court. Fees for drug testing, alcohol monitoring and counseling are also paid for by participants.Barton estimated this program saved the county around $25,000 in jail costs in 2013. This number is calculated by taking the average cost of $20 per day for an inmate to be incarcerated, multiplied by the total number of days the people in the sobriety court would be sitting in jail if they weren’t in the program.“The people who go into the sobriety court program aren’t generally in the jail,” said Barton. The 89th District Court also allows some people to do community service, helping to alleviate overcrowding in the jail. Currently, the court has had more than 3,500 hours of community service performed by people working off their fines and cost.“People had about $25,000 credited towards their fines and costs,” said Barton. “That’s in addition to the community corrections program. We keep track of our own hours. When people can’t pay off their fines and costs we let them do community services.”According to Barton, the court is doing well, exceeding all guidelines except one in timely caseload disposition and processing cases as they come through the court.Commissioner Bruce Gauthier asked Barton for an explanation about why the felony cases were up around 20 percent from the previous year, but over the last five years had declined.Barton said she believes the cases are cyclical, depending on what is happening in the community.“It is cyclical,” said Cheboygan County Sheriff Dale Clarmont. “And a lot of times, when you carry the big stick, especially with the drug problem, it will go down for a while, and then it comes back up. A lot of it has to do with the law enforcement side of it, the education, getting out there in the community. Also, from the courts, holding people accountable. It’s certainly a team effort.”Clarmont said Barton and her office have worked well with the sheriff’s department and with helping to keep the jail from being overcrowded through the community service program. “Our jail is an 82 bed facility, and we can only go within 10 percent of the 82, or we have to declare an overcrowding, if it goes over so many days,” said Clarmont. “Not only do you keep the cost to the taxpayer down, but also you’re instilling in certain individuals a little bit of a work ethic by allowing them to work that community service. Some of these people have never had that, never seen that, never been forced to go out and work in the community.”Also at the meeting Tuesday, the board presented a plaque with a certificate of appreciation to Shawna Jankoviak of the Cheboygan Daily Tribune for her many years of reporting on the county commissioners.“Shawna was with us for years and we have tried to get her here to give her a plaque and show our thanks for her years of covering,” county board chair Linda Socha said. The certificate of appreciation was thanking Jankoviak for her skill and attention for covering the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners for 13 years. “Her attention to detail has provided the citizens of Cheboygan County with accurate and insightful reporting, which is essential in providing a service to the public, to become informed and to participate in county government,” Socha said.